Mission

The International Conference on Clinical Ethics and Consultation (ICCEC) is the leading international forum dedicated to clinical ethics and healthcare ethics consultation. Since its inaugural conference in 2003, ICCEC has brought together clinicians, ethicists, philosophers, nurses, lawyers, and other healthcare professionals from around the world to share experience, advance knowledge, and strengthen the practice of clinical ethics consultation.

ICCEC’s mission is to create a secular, inclusive space for the diverse professionals who work in clinical ethics and consultation — enabling them to address the central issues in their fields, learn from each other, and build lasting collaborative connections across national and institutional boundaries.

History

The idea for ICCEC emerged in 2000, when Stella Reiter-Theil and George Agich met as invited speakers at the von Bodelschwinghschen Anstalten Bethel in Bielefeld, Germany. Inspired by a remark from the late Prof. Hans Joachim Schwager — “what we really need is an international conference to help the field to further develop” — they set out to make this vision a reality.

The first ICCEC was held in 2003 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The conference has since been held annually (with a pause in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), rotating between institutions in North America, Europe, and beyond. Over more than two decades, ICCEC has grown into an indispensable meeting point for the global clinical ethics community.

The conference is named in honour of Hans Joachim Schwager, whose vision gave it life. The Hans Joachim Schwager Award for Clinical Ethics is presented at each conference to recognise outstanding contributions to the field.

Governance

Conference Directors

ICCEC is currently led by:

  • Katherine Wasson, PhD, MPH, HEC-C — Professor, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, USA
  • Ralf J. Jox, MD, PhD — Professor of Medical Ethics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne; Director of the Institute of Humanities in Medicine (IHM), Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland

Founders Emeritus

  • George J. Agich, PhD — Co-Founder of ICCEC; former Head of the Department of Bioethics, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA
  • Stella Reiter-Theil, PhD — Co-Founder of ICCEC; Professor emeritus of Medical Ethics, University of Basel; Institute for Biomedical Ethics, Basel, Switzerland

Further information on the founding of ICCEC is available on the Founders of ICCEC page.

Contact

For general enquiries about ICCEC, please visit our Contact Us page.